“Noa woke up?” I asked.
The evening before our concert—I mean, our ritual—Tutte came to report on Noa’s status, and I hastily headed over.
“Noa!” I cried.
“Ah!” Noa replied. “Mmph! Mfff! Mm!”
When I ran over to her, she was in the middle of shoveling an inordinate amount of food into her mouth. Even when I first met her, she mentioned that she was hungry. I guess she’s not very fuel efficient. While I was surprised to see her eat so ravenously, I was mostly just relieved to see her being an energetic little girl again.
“Noa, you mustn’t talk while you eat,” I said. “That’s bad manners.”
“Mgh... I’m sorry,” Noa replied.
“Now, now. At least she seems to be doing well,” Tutte said.
“I’m sorry,” Noa said again.
“It’s fine,” I replied.
“It’s not. Because of me, everyone got...”
Noa looked glum, and I realized that she was apologizing for a different matter entirely. She’s probably feeling guilty about Nike’s attack, but it’s clear as day that it isn’t her fault.
“You don’t have to apologize,” I said. “It’s not your fault that everyone was put in danger. In fact, I’m the one to blame.”
“Th-That’s not true,” Noa replied.
Judging from Tutte’s and everyone else’s stories, it seemed clear to me that Nike hadn’t really been interested in Noa from the start. He’d only chosen to cause destruction in hopes of stirring some sort of reaction out of me. So, if the matter of responsibility became the topic, I felt like it all fell on me.
“You don’t have to worry about a thing,” I said. “I’m just really glad that you’re safe and sound.” I heaved a sigh of relief. She looked troubled, so I squeezed her face tight—I wasn’t sure what else I could do, really.
“Let me ask you something, little girl,” the talking book said, ruining the nice mood. “Nike called you a ‘failure,’ correct? Do you happen to know why? And everyone mentioned that you cast some sort of spell at the end to nullify magic. What exactly did you do?”
“Sita!” I shouted. “Shut that insensitive book up!”
“Uh, um... Lord Orthoaguina!” Sita yelped. She placed an index finger over her lips and turned to the book. “Shhh!”
“Time is a finite resource,” Orthoaguina replied. “And prolonging this dreary mood will only make it harder for her too. It’s wise to swiftly move on.”
“You’re not wrong, but at least show a bit more consideration in how you phrase your questions,” I snapped back.
Sure, he might’ve had a point, but his bluntness could’ve weighed on Noa’s heart. I had to protest his callous phrasing.
“Why don’t we let her rest easy for today and ask her tomorrow?” Magiluka said, jumping into my argument with the dragon.
“Look at her voracious appetite,” Orthoaguina pointed out. “What do we have to worry about?”
Everyone turned to the table piled high with emptied plates. Noa noticed everyone looking at her streak of carnage and turned red. “U-Um, well...” she mumbled.
“So? How about it?” Orthoaguina asked. “This won’t be the last we see of Nike, so I’d like to gather as much information as possible. And since you used your powers, surely you must’ve triggered some memories.”
As the dragon casually shocked us all, Noa’s body jolted. I was hugging her tight and didn’t miss it.
“Noa?” I asked.
“I...don’t know,” she murmured. “I did remember that I was called a failure by Nike and the Argent Armor, but I can’t recall how they decided I’m a failed product. And as for whatever power I used, I was just so engrossed in the situation that something popped up in my head. I just let that out, and I don’t really know what I did exactly, myself.” She gazed into the distance as she tried her best to remember, but ultimately, she couldn’t provide us with any clear answers. A troubled grimace stretched across her face.
“Hmm, I guess that wasn’t the vital piece to the puzzle...” Orthoaguina muttered.
“Orthoaguina?” I asked.
“Nothing. Tomorrow is the ritual. It’s best if you all get some rest.”
“Tomorrow? Already?” Noa asked, surprised by his news.
I mean, she was asleep until now. I can’t blame her. “Yeah, tomorrow will be our big show,” I said. “I’d love for you to sit and watch us perform, so you should rest up today.”
I gently put her to bed.
“Urgh... Tomorrow...” Sita said as she trembled and tried to step outside. “I-I think I’ll practice a bit more.”
Her biggest concern was her singing. While Frederika didn’t jump and applaud at Sita’s singing, the mermaid did give her a passing grade. Still, her mind was plagued with worry.
“Sita,” Rachel warned.
“I know,” Sita replied, acknowledging her sister’s concern. “I’ll do my best without pushing myself too hard. I just want to practice one last time.”
“I’ll go too,” Safina said, clearly anxious as well. She quickly followed Sita outside.
“Um, I-I think I’ll go watch over them,” Magiluka said, heading out as well. Perhaps she was nervous too.
I pondered on what to do for a few moments. I was worried about Noa, but knew that I wasn’t mentally confident enough to stand proud for tomorrow’s big show. Indeed, in truth, I was actually the most timid and anxious of the group.
“Good grief. Whatever they do now will hardly make an impact for tomorrow,” Emilia said. “They can learn from us, standing bold and confident...”
“Okay, Emilia, I leave the rest to you!” I said. I ran to join the other girls, leaving the living embodiment of self-assurance behind.
“Hey! Hey, wait!” Emilia cried. “We’re actually nervous too!”
She wailed as she ran after me. I waited for her to catch up, and we all decided to practice until the sun set.
The next day, when I saw the area by the stage, it was crowded unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I didn’t even know where these guests came from; some demons had arrived by boat, while surrounding residents had also arrived to catch the show. It wasn’t the people of Relirex skillfully guiding and managing the crowd, however, but none other than the prince of Aldia, which really left me scratching my head with confusion.
The prince claimed that he was happy that his experience from the Academy Festival was proving useful here as he managed the people. I left Tutte to take care of Noa, but Noa was already good as new, and excited by the crowd, she began to wander about and enjoy herself. Well, Lily and Snow are with her, so I think she’ll be okay.
Sacher and Rachel were in charge of standing guard nearby, and Queen Belletochka had brought in some instruments as she was doing some final tweaks with an orchestra. The performing musicians were sea creatures that Frederika had brought with her. Aside from the queen, who used her own instrument, the others were using their own body parts to create melodious music. This was beginning to look more like a musical of sorts, and I worried that before long, I’d have to begin singing in lieu of proper dialogue.
Once we finished changing into our attire, we ladies were on standby in a waiting room.
“We’re at the point of no return,” I said. “All right, guys! Let’s huddle!”
Since everyone had gathered ’round, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get ourselves energized for the show.
“A huddle? Lady Mary, do you mean like the one we did at the Academy Festival?” Safina asked. She and Tutte recalled having done it before and quickly approached me, while everyone else followed them, wondering what we were about to do. I excitedly thrust out my hand, and Safina and Tutte followed. Everyone else followed suit as we formed a circle with our hands in the middle. Silence ensued.
“Uh, Mary, since you started this, shouldn’t you be the one to say something?” Emilia said, intuiting this practice.
“Uh, I thought the prince, princess, or queen would be best,” I replied, trying to play it off and pass the duty on to someone else. “I can’t speak in lieu of the royals, can I?”
“Heh heh, I think it’s a bit too late for that,” the prince chuckled.
“Indeed. You can take it away, Little Mary!” the queen added.